Archiving the Charleston Heart Study (CHS) data collected over a 41-year period (1960-2000) will facilitate important research efforts directed toward understanding the natural progression of aging in a community based cohort. Enhancement of current scientific knowledge related to the socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics of an aging biracial community cohort may be possible through secondary data analyses of this unique data set. The CHS began enrolling a random selection of community residents in 1960 who were then 35 years of age and older - including men and women, black and white. The primary hypothesis of the original study was to investigate racial differences in the manifestation and risk factors for coronary disease. Over the ensuing 40+ years, a variety of outcome measurements were incorporated into the reexamination of the participants, including psychosocial, behavioral, aging and functional measures. The aims of this application are to document and preserve the Charleston Heart Study for future research efforts, to update the vital status of the cohort, and to establish mechanisms for distributing the data and documentation to researchers in a manner that will facilitate its use, and provide user support and technical services. Archiving this longitudinal data for its future scientific use will ensure the necessary foundation for subsequent studies to expand scientific knowledge of the risk factors, correlates and consequences of aging, while simultaneously allowing for exploration of racial disparity in the manifestation of putative risk factors and outcomes.